Airborne Express was an express delivery company and a cargo airline. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, its hub was at Wilmington, Ohio. Airborne was founded as the Airborne Flower Traffic Association of California in 1946 to fly flowers from the state of Hawaii to US Mainland. The airline was acquired by DHL in 2003. Prior to the acquisition, it was the third largest private express delivery company in the United States. In 2008, DHL announced that it will discontinue air and ground operations within the United States but its DHL Express will continue to operate between the United States and other nations.